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Article
Awareness Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease: Issues in Assessment and Intervention
Journal of Applied Gerontology (1997)
  • Victoria Cotrell, Portland State University
Abstract

Unawareness of deficits is a challenging problem frequently encountered in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Understanding mediating and causative factors of unawareness is important for accurate assessment and effective intervention. However, clinicians should also consider the variability that is often present between and within AD patients and should avoid the use of dichotomous classifications of unawareness. In this article, current knowledge generated by both neurosciences and behavioral sciences provides the basis for identifying issues and offering recommendations pertinent to assessment and intervention of awareness deficits m AD. Remedial and compensatory efforts used with head-injured patients may have potential application to dementia patients with awareness deficits, especially for those in earlier stages. Knowledge in this area is still in an early stage of investigation. As more is known about the nature of awareness deficits, it will be possible to design more effective approaches based on the characteristics of individual patients.

Keywords
  • Alzheimer disease,
  • Driving
Disciplines
Publication Date
1997
Citation Information
Victoria Cotrell. "Awareness Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease: Issues in Assessment and Intervention" Journal of Applied Gerontology Vol. 16 Iss. 1 (1997)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/victoria_cotrell/9/